BC Wildfire services have been busy working on wildfires in the East Kootenays over the weekend.
The Regional District East Kootenay (RDEK) has issued an evacuation order for two properties and evacuation alerts for 65 properties, due to the Island Pond wildfire.
RDEK Emergency Operations Centre Director, Christina Carbrey, says the time to prepare is now.
“This is a really good time for people to get prepared to make sure they have their grab -and -go bags ready, and if they have RVs, campers, and trailers and anything along those lines, or if they have hobby farms with animals or livestock or anything of that nature, The alert phase is the time to move them,” said Carbrey.
“Once an order comes down, if it escalates to that, that’s not the time to move all of those things.”
“That’s when we’re getting people out quickly. So, make those plans now and ensure your family has a plan and knows what to do.”
If there is a wildfire near you, or on your travels to your destination, RDEK is reminding everyone to make good choices to keep everyone safe.
“There’s lots of people that are curious and want to see what’s going on and take pictures,” said Carbrey.
“Just a really friendly reminder to please keep moving, don’t stop in that area. We don’t want to cause any accidents while somebody’s trying to look and see what’s going on or anything like that.”
“And it also ensures that BC Wildfire Services and any other responding crews actually have easy access to get into, to actually action the fire.”
“Just keep clear and being aware of what’s going on and staying out of areas that you shouldn’t be in.”
More Information
The BC Wildfire Service is the primary source of information for all wildfire activity.
Regional District East Kootenay (RDEK) is the primary source of information for evacuation orders and evacuation alerts.
Drive BC for all information on roads and road closures.
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